


The One With Bucky's Biggest Fan

by justanotherpipedream



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 10yearsofstevetony, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Established Relationship, Fanboy! Tony Stark, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Protective Rhodey, Protective Steve Rogers, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 12:39:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10360692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherpipedream/pseuds/justanotherpipedream
Summary: Steve still can’t believe how long it took for him to notice. It wasn’t a secret really, just something that no one had cared to ask...it honestly took Rhodey pulling him aside and pulling out an old photo album, before Steve really understood.Tony Stark was a Bucky Barnes fan.(aka The one where Tony is the biggest Bucky Barnes fanboy, Steve is a supportive boyfriend, and Bucky is perplexed by it all.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Akira_of_the_Twilight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira_of_the_Twilight/gifts).



> Based on [akira-of-the-twilight](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/) and anon's post on [tumblr](http://akira-of-the-twilight.tumblr.com/post/158521892593/i-read-stony-stories-of-tony-being-a-captain/)

Steve still can’t believe how long it took for him to notice.

It wasn’t a secret really, just something that no one had cared to ask.

After all, Howard Stark had the most extensive Captain America collection in the world. There was an entire room filled with showcases of collectible cards, action figures, and every edition of the Captain America comic books and magazines that any collector would kill to have.

It made sense then, that Howard would go further and collect all the Howling Commando memorabilia as well. So of course there would be an entire section geared towards Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, best friend to Captain America.

Looking back, the first sign should have been right after Bucky was brought back to the tower, At first, Steve thought that Tony was trying to hide (for Steve’s sake) how nervous he was that Bucky, the Winter Soldier, was staying with them in the tower.

Tony always managed to find an excuse to leave Steve and Bucky alone before fleeing the room. Bucky squeezed Steve’s arm with a tight smile. “It’s fine Steve, I wouldn’t be as half as kind to me if I were them.”

Thankfully, before Steve was tempted to tear himself in half for his best friend and boyfriend…things worked out. Apparently all it took was a few nights of sharing nightmares and ice cream for Bucky and Tony to put things behind them.

(Steve thought that he was hallucinating when he say Tony and Bucky in the kitchen after his morning run, laughing and making blueberry pancakes.)

It honestly took Rhodey pulling him aside and pulling out an old photo album, before Steve really understood.

Tony Stark was a Bucky Barnes fan.

* * *

There were pages and pages of pictures with Tony and Bucky bear, snuggled up in various positions. Tony and Bucky bear building a block tower together. Tony and Bucky bear dressed up in matching costumes for Halloween. Tony and Bucky bear cuddling (cuddling!) together for a nap.

Steve cooed at the sight, a grin splitting his face. He turned towards the rest of the old boxes, determined to see what else he could find. As Steve opened more and more boxes, a frown quickly formed on his face.

“Where is the rest?? If I know Tony, he wouldn’t have gotten rid of all of this. There should be boxes of old toys and comic books in here somewhere…”

Rhodey hesitated before leaning in with a harsh whisper, “As you can imagine, Howard wasn’t the biggest fan of Tony ‘ruining’ the action figures. From what I can tell, that bear and a few comic books were the only things that Tony was allowed to ‘play’ with when he was younger.”

Steve stiffened, before peering at the camera in the corner, “Jarvis?”

“Mr. Rhodes is correct. Mr. Howard Stark had deemed Tony playing with the toys ‘a waste of time’ and proceeded to throw out the remainder of Mr. Stark’s old toys and comic book collection. My predecessor, Edwin Jarvis, was able to save only the favoured ‘Bucky bear’ in the process.”

Steve felt a dark, cold surge of anger burn through him. The more he learned about who Howard Stark became, the more Steve wanted to go back in time and punch the man in the face.

_I may not be able to go back and time and give Howard a piece of my mind, but this…I may be able to fix._

* * *

Tony can admit to himself that he isn’t the best at paying attention to the small details around him. Once he got into a groove in the workshop, it usually took either Steve, Pepper or Rhodey to drag him out kicking and screaming before he would collapse in exhaustion a few minutes later.

But this? This was just perplexing.

He was used to Steve leaving small things in his workshop for him. A sandwich, a plate of cheese, small trinkets from wherever Steve left on a long mission.

It reminded me of you, said Steve as he placed a small seashell in his hand. I thought you would like this, smiled Steve as he placed a small Iron Man key chain next to the Captain America one on the counter.

Tony had Dum-E clear a small space on the bookshelf to house his growing collection of gifts from Steve, and it didn't take long for the space to slowly fill with trinkets.

Now though, the gifts had more of a specific theme to them. A Winter Soldier themed watch, a Bucky Barnes themed lunch kit with matching backpack. When Steve brought in a replica jacket, the exact same one that Bucky wore back in the war from the comic books, Tony’s eyes widened. Steve struggled to keep a straight face at Tony's squeal, unable to hold back the pure glee.

“Not that I don’t love these gifts, but what’s with the theme here?”

Steve slowly draped the jacket on Tony’s shoulders. “A certain someone may have told me about how much you loved Bucky as a kid…”

Tony glared up at Jarvis, cheeks turning a bright red as he muttered, “I’m gong to re-program War Machine’s arm to repeatedly play songs that Rhodey hates…. .”

“And I saw these, and I just couldn’t resist.”

Tony fidgeted, a hint of uncertainty staring back at Steve. “…you aren’t mad?”

Steve’s eyes warmed as he helped Tony into the jacket. “No sweetheart. At first, I admit I was a bit jealous, but at the end of the day, I’m just glad that Bucky was able to help you when you needed it.”

_When I couldn’t be._

Steve stood back as Tony looked at himself in the mirror. Steve laughed as Tony spun around, Dum-E and U twirling around them in excitement. Tony turned back before flinging himself at Steve, his face pressed against Steve’s chest as Steve pulled him in close.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime sweetheart.”

* * *

Bucky looked up from his cereal as Clint whistled. Tony beamed as he held out his arms, showing off what looked like a new jacket, as he made his way towards the coffeepot.

“Nice jacket Tones! It looks good on you!”

Natasha looked up from stove, nodding as she flipped her omelette. “It looks lovely on you.”

Tony preened as he turned to look at Bucky, eyes filled with a shy expectation.

“What do you think?”

“It looks nice?”

Natasha glared at him from behind, as she waved her spatula. _Fix this, now_ , Clint mouthed to him frantically. As Tony started to deflate in front of him, Bucky’s eyes widened in panic. “Really doll, it looks fantastic on you. You look amazing.”

Tony looked at him suspiciously. “You aren’t just saying that?”

Bucky looked him up and down, “It suits you well, really.”

Tony stared at him for a beat, before beaming once again. “Thanks Bucky! I’m going to go show Bruce!” He quickly downed his coffee, pouring another cup as he left for the lab.

Clint and Natasha sighed in relief before glaring at Bucky.

“What? I thought he gets new clothes all the time, what’s so special about that jacket?”

Clint stared at him in disbelief. “You seriously don’t know?”

Natasha sat beside him, examining Bucky’s face more closely. “He really doesn’t.” She grabbed the tablet off the counter, swiping at it before sliding it towards Bucky.

Bucky stared blankly. A comic version of his face beamed back at him wearing the exact same jacket as he posed beside Captain America.

“What.”

“I’m surprised that Steve managed to find one, they’re sold out everywhere.”

”…but why?”

Clint nudged Bucky’s arm before grinning. “Howard was the Captain America fan. Tony though? Tony always told everyone that Bucky Barnes was his favourite superhero.”

Bucky’s brain must have shorted, because he was suddenly choking on his cereal. Natasha hit him hard in the back.

Bucky sat there blankly staring at his empty bowl. Clint and Natasha must have left, because when he looked up again Rhodey was sitting in front of him, watching him closely.

“I’m already dead since I’ve showed this to Steve, so I might as well go down in flames of glory.”

Rhodey slid the photo album towards Bucky, peering quickly over towards the entrance, making sure no one else was on their way in.

Bucky was astonished as he stared at a grinning six year old Tony Stark hugging a clearly well-loved Bucky bear. Both were wearing party hats as Tony held up a piece of cake towards his furry companion.

“You helped him Buck.”

Bucky startled as Steve stared down at him fondly, eyes on the album in front of him. A sense of panic started twisting in his gut as he stared down. _Oh god, what have I done, what-_

Steve stopped beside Bucky, clasping his shoulder. “From what I can tell, Bucky Bear was Tony’s best friend for a long time, and was there when all the other toys left him.

“But that’s not really me-”

Steve stared back at him stubbornly. “Even if it wasn’t, you think that matters? To Tony, you were his hero.”

Bucky gripped his hands tightly, eyes burning. “Even if that’s true, I’m the murderer that killed his parents Steve, not some hero.”

“It wasn’t your fault remember? Hydra did this, Tony already told you that. But you’re right, you’re not his hero anymore.”

Steve flipped the pages gently. “But Tony doesn’t need a hero anymore. You’re his friend, and I think that’s much better than being his hero any day.”

Bucky let out a shaky breath, lips twitching. “His friend huh?”

Steve nudged him, “Yeah, one of his best friends I think.”

Bucky closed the album carefully. “I think I can live with that.”

* * *

Bucky stared, horrified as Tony smiled for the cameras. Steve slid beside him, smirking as Bucky glared at him.

“You did this.”

Steve widened his eyes, an innocent look on his face that Bucky knew never to trust. “What exactly?”

Bucky waved his hand towards Tony. “You know exactly what I mean, you did _that_.”

Tony stood in front of all the flashing cameras at the podium answering all the questions being shouted at him. However, instead of his usual suit and tie, Tony was sporting his Bucky Barnes vintage jacket with matching pants, socks and watch. He even had his Winter Soldier mug turned towards the cameras as he took sips of water from it.

Steve barely held back a laugh as he coughed. “I didn’t do anything. All I did was mention how much flack the press was giving you recently. It was Tony’s idea to ‘re-brand’ and set the world straight with what happened to Bucky Barnes.”

Bucky sighed resignedly as he slumped in his seat. At first, Bucky was super smug about how Tony loved his Winter Soldier merchandise even more than the Captain America gear everyone else seemed to hoard.

Bucky took advantage of it, and never failed to rib Steve about Tony wearing his stuff. Steve pouted, but couldn’t help but brighten every time he saw how happy Tony was every time.

In hindsight, Bucky should have remembered never to underestimate Steve. His nickname was ‘the man with the plan’ for a reason, and Bucky should have never forgotten that.

When Tony burst into the living room, with Steve smugly behind him, a sense of dread filled him as Tony stood in front of him, vibrating.

“Guess what? I managed to buy the Winter Soldier trademark!”

Bucky stared at him blankly. “What?”

“I managed to buy the trademark! Turns out that Howard sold it a while back, but I was able to buy it back! Now we can make hoodies, and sweaters and socks and….”

Bucky stared in horror as Tony continued on. Steve’s shark grin grew wider in the background.

“…and I’m thinking- you don’t like it.”

Bucky startled back. “What?”

Tony slumped. “You don’t like it? I was thinking that we could at least control what they make this way, and we can donate a part of the proceeds to a Veteran’s association for wounded soldiers…”

Bucky straightened then blinked. That actually sounded pretty good. “That’s…actually a fantastic idea Tony. I can’t believe you went and spent all that money…thank you.”

Tony straightened and grinned, all tears suddenly gone. His eyes glinted. “That’s great! I’ll tell Pepper to get started right away!”

Bucky gaped as Steve saluted him, grinning as he went to follow Tony out.

* * *

Bucky pointedly ignored the looks that Steve gave him every time Natasha walked by with a black and red starred hoodie, or when Clint snacked on a Winter Soldier granola bar. Bucky had given up once Thor proudly wore his 'Bucky Barnes scarf' every time he left to visit Jane. He even smiled a bit when he saw Bruce stumble into movie night wearing his fluffy red starred socks.

And if he admired his brand new Bucky bear on his bed, proudly displayed next to the Iron Man one...well no one but Jarvis would know.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Also, happy 10 years of Steve/Tony!
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](http://summerpipedream.tumblr.com/)


End file.
